Rotating assemblies in automotive vehicles are generally equipped with bearings and seals. A portion of the seal can lie against a rotating shaft in order to prevent moisture or dust to get in the bearing. Contact with the surface of the rotating shaft is generally made by a circular contact line of a portion of the seal.
In case the bearing assembly is mounted on a steering wheel assembly of the vehicle, one can need to provide a smooth resistance effort to the rotation of the steering wheel, in order for the driver to “feel” the direction of the vehicle and to have a better driving sensation.
To bring this resistance effort, it is known from WO-2006/030090 or EP-B-1 058 792 to generate a friction torque on the steering wheel shaft thanks to the seal associated to the bearing assembly which controls the rotation of the steering wheel. The seal can therefore be equipped with a circular spring, in order to press the seal against the surface of the rotating shaft.
As the friction torque is a side effect of the seal, its structure is not adapted to exert a regular friction torque. The contact between the seal and the rotating surface is only made by a tapered toroidal surface, which defines before mounting a line of contact. When contact is made with the rotating surface, the contact surface is slightly enlarged, but the fact that the contact surface is initially a line may induce damages of the seal. Moreover, this thin contact surface does not provide enough friction torque.